Well meaning Christians can miss the point easily here. Peter had been with Jesus a while and was starting to understand that Jesus was about forgiveness when he suggested that we forgive 7 times. 7 times was generous. In those days religious people said 3 times was plenty. I mean let’s think about it in our lives. Let’s say someone sins agains you... like steals something from you. According the passage above, you go to that person and say “Hey, you stole that from me.” They say, please forgive me... and you forgive. Then they steal something else from you... Peter’s question is valid. How many times do you forgive? Maybe it’s not stealing. Maybe someone lied to you. Maybe someone gossiped about you. If we all forgave people 7 times we would probably be considered the most merciful people in he world. We give up on people too quickly. 3 strikes and you are out. What Jesus is getting at is that Peter is missing the point all together. It isn’t about how many times. It isn’t about making a list. It’s about the heart. We want rules so we can follow Jesus with our mind, but not our heart. Quick caveat... if someone is stealing from you, don’t give them a key to your house. We can forgive and still have wise boundaries. Let’s say someone has an abusive husband and he occasionally gets mad and hits her or threatens her. 1. The husband needs to be confronted with their sin 2. Boundaries need to be put in place. Including separation, etc. 3. Forgiveness is still on the table.